Averion announced the appointment of Peter Gonze as executive VP of global business development. “Peter brings the necessary sales, marketing and operational management experience to grow Averion’s global sales,” said Markus Weissbach, CEO. “I welcome Peter to our senior management team and look to him to lead our sales growth and position Averion as a top-tier international CRO.”

What with the Olympics, we have not quite been able to finish Nicholas Carr’s Atlantic Monthly article, Is Google Making Us Stupid? Meanwhile, Carr’s Rough Type blog alerts us that a proliferation of online scientific publications has lead to more superficial research. One caveat: the cited analysis was done by a sociologist.  d9A2t49mkex

MichBio will publish a twice-yearly magazine, BioMatters. The publication will be devoted to chronicling the discoveries, trends, issues and personalities in the Michigan life sciences community, which is still rebounding from Pfizer closing its galaxy-sized Ann Arbor facility. “An important part of MichBio’s mission is to support our members and the industry as a whole by disseminating materials that inform, educate and assist those with a stake in Michigan’s biosciences industry as well as the general public,” said Stephen Rapundalo, MichBio executive director. The first edition will be issued November 5, prior to the 2008 MichBio Expo and Conference, November 18 and 19 in Novi, Michigan. Here’s the release.

Forbes magazine has this article on safety concerns around the Amylin diabetes blockbuster Byetta. (This week, the FDA announced six cases of Byetta-related hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis, two of them fatal.) Forbes outlines a few familiar deficiencies in the U.S. drug safety system and notes Byetta’s benefits. “Worries about emerging side effects may also be slowing sales growth for the medicines that eventually make it through the regulatory maze,” the magazine says. The FDA has stopped short of a black box but has updated its information sheet on the drug.

Research and Markets announced a report titled “Contract Research Annual Review 2008.”  It offers details on more than 50 mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. With 37 graphs and 15 tables, the 140-page document includes data on market size, growth, analysis of the contract research organization (CRO) market by type of company, service offering, and therapy class, pre-clinical CROs, central labs and CROs in developing regions.

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) admitted two new members. Clinilabs joined ACRO at the associate level. ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services joined at the regular level. Daniel Perlman, chairman and CEO of RPS, was named to the ACRO board, as all regular members receive a seat. “I am extremely pleased to welcome Clinilabs and RPS as new members of ACRO,” said David Spaight, ACRO chair and president of MDS Pharma. “Their involvement will enhance the association’s ability to represent the CRO industry broadly to government officials, research sponsors, patient groups and other international stakeholders. We invite all CROs to consider membership in our industry’s trade association.”

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